Last week, Harvard’s Faculty Advisory Council revealed that the school now spends $3.75 million annually on academic journal subscriptions. Why so much? According to a memo the council sent out, some journals cost the school up to $40,000 every year, with the two top publishers increasing the price of content 145% over the last six years.

This is troubling for a number of reasons. First, in an age where the public can browse nearly 4 million articles for free on Wikipedia, a curious person looking to read up on the latest scientific research can expect to spend nearly $30 to $40 for a single paper from publishers such as Elsevier and Springer.

While it would be nice if academic journals were affordable for the general public, they are an absolute necessity for university faculty and graduate students. Like your cable provider, publishers often sell content in huge bundles, packing in less desirable content with the good stuff and raising the price.

Go to source:
http://techland.time.com/2012/04/26/if-harvard-cant-afford-academic-journal-subscriptions-maybe-its-time-for-an-open-access-model/#ixzz1taWovq3A